Espionage in the Himalayas: No Ordinary Adventure

March 5, 2026 · 54 min · Season 1 · Episode 136

About this episode

The episode recounts Pete Takeda's perilous journey in the Himalayas while searching for CIA surveillance devices amidst life-threatening conditions.

Pete Takeda’s is a unique story - combining extreme locations, extraordinary natural phenomena… and espionage. In September 2005, Pete is leading a small party deep into the Himalayas. His plan is not just to summit the peak of Nanda Kot, but to find proof of plutonium-powered surveillance devices - rumoured to have been planted in the mountains by the CIA some 40 years earlier. But when the might of the mountain turns against Pete and his team, all their priorities shift. Buried alive beneath hundreds of tonnes of snow, cut off from any sort of help, they’ll face a series of lethal threats… A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Heléna Lewis | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Matt Peaty | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that…

People in this episode

Host: John Hopkins

Topics covered

espionage
Himalayas
survival
adventure
extreme locations
natural phenomena

Keywords

espionage
Himalayas
survival story
Nanda Kot
CIA
plutonium-powered devices
extreme adventure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CIA

Places: Himalayas, Nanda Kot